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Hey everybody.
Here's what's up. A friend gave me a Zebco 33 spincast reel today. It's hardly been used, and I'm not even sure I'll use it but I wanted to try it since I've never used a spincaster before. However, I want to know if it can be used with Berkley PowerPro braided line.
I know some of the concerns with this is (1) the ceramic pins utilized in the reel as opposed to steel pins and (2) the plastic spool. However, Im wondering, if I'm careful not to put too much strain on the line while reeling (by adjusting the drag appropriately, NOT reeling when line is hung up, etc.) and if I'm careful not to reel in loose line, will my PowerPro work or will I have to use my 15lb mono?
FYI I'm going to be using this for bass fishing, primarily.
Opinions? Has anyone used braid successfully with spincasters WITHOUT destroying your reel?
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Hi there..tips from Pauly pro.Use backing incase you want to use just half a spool of 150yards.If you don't need alot of line,my buddy adds tape to the spool to fill it up,and then adds his line.I lay the spool on the ground and use a rag to hold the line,must be tight,real tight!.Don't over fill the spool,you may find out why,the hard way.I flip the spool over if I see it twisting,even so I flip the spool around a few times while adding line to the reel.
I use cheap rods and never had a problem with my line guides?Whatever you do,don't buy the 5or8lb powerpro,it will twist bad!.10is fine,I use it and 15,and 4in fireline,used to use 20,but its an overkill.
Make sure the line goes on evenly,if not you can add or remove a washer at the shaft ,you can see the washer,or "spacer" after removing the spool on your reel,or if its uneven,stop about halfway and add line by hand to the uneven areas,then finish spooling it as you were.Also,on some reels the line will get caught in the groove for the line roller.I usually solve this issue by taking off the roller,and removing the spacer,this will close the gap and the roller will still spins fine without the spacer.I love braid,as a teen I went all the way up to 17 mono just for bass fishing.Then the original spider wire came out,and I was hooked for life.Nowadays I use powerpro,10 and 15,suffix in 6and17,and 4 in fireline.P.S.I caught my Pacu with the 17 suffix,my line was about to burst with those teeth,OMG!
P.S.I made my first fishing video using my light action rod with 4lb fireline.I used my berkley cherrywood 4to 6 enjoy [url "http://youtu.be/3wtpiMGlX3k"]http://youtu.be/3wtpiMGlX3k[/url] we started recording once we knew what it was
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Ok, I got the reel itself figured out, but now I have a new predicament.
I only have a spinning rod to install my spincaster on right now. I've got it on and spooled and all set up, but I'm wondering, what's the best way to hold the rod like this until I can get a casting pole? Because the SC reel sits SO close to the rod, I have no room to wrap my fingers around the upper grip like I usually do, and it's awkward to hold the rod like I would hold a casting pole, because the retrieval arm is on the wrong side of the reel.
So my question is...
What's the best way to grip it?if its best to hold it like you would hold a casting pole, then how do I switch the retrieval arm to the other side of the reel?
Thanks again.
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You didn't say what weight Power Pro you were going to put on your reel. PaulPro gave you some good "general" tips about putting braid on a reel, but I don't know that your spincast reel has enough capacity to worry about putting on backing too. I'll leave that decision up to you.
As for your rod issue... you say "wrong-hand" etc., but you don't say WHAT SIDE of the reel that your handle is on...
Most right-handed people, cast a SPINNING rod/reel with their right hand and crank the spinning reel with their left hand.
Most right-handed people cast a SPINCAST/baitcasing reel with their right hand, then switch hands (now holding the rod in the LEFT hand), and crank/retrieve the reel with their right hand.
Is this how yours is set up??
There are also some right-handed people though, that will cast baitcasters with their right hand and KEEP the rod in their right hand and crank/retrieve the reel with their left hands!
Keep your spincast reel on TOP (not hanging down like a spinning reel) and I would think that regardless of the side of the handle you could adjust to make it work.
The fact that you're using a spinning rod (vs. a "casting" rod) for the time being, shouldn't make much of a difference. The only REAL difference is that spinning rods USUALLY have a lighter action to them.
Let us all know how that braid on a spincast reel works for ya!!
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[quote ydoc]You didn't say what weight Power Pro you were going to put on your reel. PaulPro gave you some good "general" tips about putting braid on a reel, but I don't know that your spincast reel has enough capacity to worry about putting on backing too. I'll leave that decision up to you.
As for your rod issue... you say "wrong-hand" etc., but you don't say WHAT SIDE of the reel that your handle is on...
Most right-handed people, cast a SPINNING rod/reel with their right hand and crank the spinning reel with their left hand.
Most right-handed people cast a SPINCAST/baitcasing reel with their right hand, then switch hands (now holding the rod in the LEFT hand), and crank/retrieve the reel with their right hand.
Is this how yours is set up??
There are also some right-handed people though, that will cast baitcasters with their right hand and KEEP the rod in their right hand and crank/retrieve the reel with their left hands!
Keep your spincast reel on TOP (not hanging down like a spinning reel) and I would think that regardless of the side of the handle you could adjust to make it work.
The fact that you're using a spinning rod (vs. a "casting" rod) for the time being, shouldn't make much of a difference. The only REAL difference is that spinning rods USUALLY have a lighter action to them.
Let us all know how that braid on a spincast reel works for ya!![/quote]
I got it figured out, I'm actually just doing what you said, casting with my right hand, then switching and retrieving with my right hand, keeping the spool up.
I also did use some 10lb mono to use as a backing on the spool before tying on the power pro. I didnt keep track of heartlands or anything, but the PP diameter is exactly the same as the mono. I mainly put the mono backing on to protect the spool in case of ultra tight line. I didn't want it cutting into the spool. I'm pretty sure the pickup pin will cut the braid before the braid cuts it (the pin in titanium) but I set the drag kind of light anyway just in case.
Anyway, I haven't actually taken it to the lake yet to really try it yet, hopefully I will later today or tomorrow. However I took it out back and made a few casts just to get a feel for it, and it casts perfectly. No hang ups, no bird nests inside the cone, etc. looking forward to it! I'llpost when I actually fish with it. Hopefully I'll be able to get a couple bass. Water is just getting warm so they should be pretty active.
Out of curiosity, what kind of mono is good for bassing? Just in case I decide to go back to it.
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[quote BigN_2395]
I got it figured out, I'm actually just doing what you said, casting with my right hand, then switching and retrieving with my right hand, keeping the spool up.
I also did use some 10lb mono to use as a backing on the spool before tying on the power pro. I didnt keep track of heartlands or anything, but the PP diameter is exactly the same as the mono. I mainly put the mono backing on to protect the spool in case of ultra tight line. I didn't want it cutting into the spool. I'm pretty sure the pickup pin will cut the braid before the braid cuts it (the pin in titanium) but I set the drag kind of light anyway just in case.
Anyway, I haven't actually taken it to the lake yet to really try it yet, hopefully I will later today or tomorrow. However I took it out back and made a few casts just to get a feel for it, and it casts perfectly. No hang ups, no bird nests inside the cone, etc. looking forward to it! I'llpost when I actually fish with it. Hopefully I'll be able to get a couple bass. Water is just getting warm so they should be pretty active.
Out of curiosity, what kind of mono is good for bassing? Just in case I decide to go back to it.[/quote]
<lol> Asking which mono is best, is like asking if blondes, brunettes, or redheads are best. (Please don't reply to that... [  ])
Personally, I've always had good luck with Trilene XL or XT... but I've heard good stuff about Trilene BIG GAME too - especially for the price. But... if you look at ANY "best line?" threads, you'll find just about everybody likes something different.
I fish from a float tube. My rod/reel combos are a mix of spincast and baitcast. I've always used mono or copoly on my spincast and fluorocarbon or braid on the baitcast. I use the spincast for the light stuff, and the baitcast/braid for frogs, etc.
Fishing from a tube, most of my casts are fairly short... please post your braid-in-a-spincast results. I'm also interested in the long-term results. I wonder what the pickup pins will look like after a season of braid dragging across them??? ![[Image: surprised.gif]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/images/gforum/surprised.gif)
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Glad to help.Listen for a spinning reel,to change the handle just look at the otherside of your spinning reel,see a knob,its directly opposit to the handle..,unscrew it all the way,the handle should loosen up and slide right out,should be easy unless its stuck in there.The knob will go on the otherside now where the handle used to be ok.Just tight it back,
remember, righty tighty lefty loosy.[laugh].P.S.Stay tunned for my vid with the Pacu I caught on easter sunday.,two clips.. will be up under the freshwater fishing section,make sure to subscribe under "forum settings".[  ]
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[quote ydoc][quote BigN_2395]
I got it figured out, I'm actually just doing what you said, casting with my right hand, then switching and retrieving with my right hand, keeping the spool up.
I also did use some 10lb mono to use as a backing on the spool before tying on the power pro. I didnt keep track of heartlands or anything, but the PP diameter is exactly the same as the mono. I mainly put the mono backing on to protect the spool in case of ultra tight line. I didn't want it cutting into the spool. I'm pretty sure the pickup pin will cut the braid before the braid cuts it (the pin in titanium) but I set the drag kind of light anyway just in case.
Anyway, I haven't actually taken it to the lake yet to really try it yet, hopefully I will later today or tomorrow. However I took it out back and made a few casts just to get a feel for it, and it casts perfectly. No hang ups, no bird nests inside the cone, etc. looking forward to it! I'llpost when I actually fish with it. Hopefully I'll be able to get a couple bass. Water is just getting warm so they should be pretty active.
Out of curiosity, what kind of mono is good for bassing? Just in case I decide to go back to it.[/quote]
<lol> Asking which mono is best, is like asking if blondes, brunettes, or redheads are best. (Please don't reply to that... [ ])
Personally, I've always had good luck with Trilene XL or XT... but I've heard good stuff about Trilene BIG GAME too - especially for the price. But... if you look at ANY "best line?" threads, you'll find just about everybody likes something different.
I fish from a float tube. My rod/reel combos are a mix of spincast and baitcast. I've always used mono or copoly on my spincast and fluorocarbon or braid on the baitcast. I use the spincast for the light stuff, and the baitcast/braid for frogs, etc.
Fishing from a tube, most of my casts are fairly short... please post your braid-in-a-spincast results. I'm also interested in the long-term results. I wonder what the pickup pins will look like after a season of braid dragging across them??? [.img]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/images/gforum/surprised.gif[/img][/quote]
I've loved all of them brah (;
As for the line, ill check those out. I may end up just being lazy and cheap any buying a big spool of zebco omniflex or whatever for $2 from Walmart, lol. I bought a spool of 15lb a while back for leaders and there's nothing really wrong with it.
Anyway, I took my new setup out to the lake tonight! Just did some shore fishing with it. Used a big spinner (skirted one, not an inline spinner). No bites or catches to test it further, but my reel seemed to perform very well with the braid, other than getting hung up on the pickup pin occasionally. Nice, long casts, accurate, smooth retrieve, felt good in my hand, just good all around. There was zero moon tonight, so I'm gonna go tomorrow and hopefully get some bites, and catches! Oh, and the pin isn't screwed up at all yet, nor is anything else on the reel, and I worked it pretty good. Hopefully it will hold up. However, as far as the hang up issue, what's up with that? Do I need to use a bigger-diameter braid, or will that just happen with braid regardless because of how pliable and conforming it is? If it keeps up, that would be the only thing that would keep me from continuing to use it. It's relatively easy to fix, but I took five years off my life tonight because of the way my heart stopped temporarily every time the lure failed to cast, and instead came flying back at my face.
So yeah, over all, all things considered, so far so good. I'll keep you updated and let you know how it performs with a fish on the line.
... Oh yeah. I actually did catch something tonight. The most massive, monstrous, scary bullfrog I've ever laid eyes on, in photos or in real life. It hooked him through the upper part of his mouth though, so I hope he will okay. Acted fine when I took him off. It fought and ran like a big bass!
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Thanks for the info brah, but it looks like my spincast isn't a R/L after all. Oh well it's working fine with casting right handed, switching to left, and reeling with right. I like the change anyway.
*OKAY GUYS, I went to the lake today with my braid-loaded spincast. I was casting a relatively light spinbait, and then a creature-bait. A minnow style, trout colored lifelike swim bait. Both were productive, and I caught 2 5lb LM Bass. Reel held up great through everything; no hang ups, no pin failure, no reel catching fire (lol). I got home and examined the pin and there is absolutely ZERO wear so far. Line is holding up good as well. I'm VERY happy, and glad I decided to use this rather than toss it out or sell it. It still casts beautifully, even with light baits/lures, and it retrieves very smoothly. Only bad part of the day was, the bass that hit the swim bait swallowed it, and died despite my efforts to cleanly remove the hook. I decided to keep it, since it was of legal bag size, and was not a female. I'll eat it, so its death wasn't in vain.
Im sentimental like that.
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Glad to hear that it's working for ya!
Having never used braid on a spincast, I don't know why it occasionally hangs up on the pin? It might turn out being one of the nuances of using braid on that type of reel.
Zebco's aren't bad spincast reels. I'm using the Zebco Omega's myself. Regarding the wear on your pickup-pins, they shouldn't show signs of wear after a trip or two (just like your rod guides shouldn't). But, be sure to check them (pins) on a regular basis... and be sure to report back here at the end of the season... I'm VERY curious regarding the long-term wear!
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Sorry to hear about the bass,at least you ate it.
Pauly tip.Pinch the barb down on your hook this way even if the bass swallows your hook,you can get it out without killing the bass.I do this all the time,don't see them float up anymore,haven't killed a single bass this way,its the barb that kills them,it tears the stomach bad.You'll see the difference.I've noticed its much better now,and I feel much better about it as well.I appreciate your love for bass,and I'm glad I can help when it comes to the swallowing of the hook.
Pauly pro approves this message ![[Image: happy.gif]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/images/gforum/happy.gif)
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My bad I thought we were talking about a spinning reel ![[Image: confused.gif]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/images/gforum/confused.gif) ,I used to have a spincast,maybe would of been cool to of put braid on it[ ],not sure about that hanging up on the pin part?I got spooled by a bass that took my brim as a kid on one of them.Only if they had braid back then...
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No problem Paul, your input is ALWAYS welcome! [ ]
You are right though, most[/i][/b] spincast reels have much less capacity than do baitcasting/spinning reels. I know of least one exception (there may be others) to that... and that's the Abu Garcia 170. I know that it can hold 140 yards of 12# (mono).
But unlike you lucky FLORIDA guys, the bass "up north" don't get as big. I fish mostly farm ponds and a 7lb. bass would be a monster. Most are in the 2-4lb range for which spincast reels (capacity) are not a problem.
And yet, most of my spincast reels are spooled with mono. I make short casts (due to farm ponds and fishing from a tube) and fish a lot of top water/sub-surface, so mono works fine. BUT, I have wondered how braid - and fluorocarbon for that matter - perform in spincasting reels. I've just never wanted to risk the effort to try. [crazy]
I'm hoping that BigN 2395 can tell us how good (or not good) BRAID works!
Tight lines my friend.
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[quote BigN_2395]
*OKAY GUYS, I went to the lake today with my braid-loaded spincast. I was casting a relatively light spinbait, and then a creature-bait. A minnow style, trout colored lifelike swim bait. Both were productive, and I caught 2 5lb LM Bass.
Reel held up great through everything; no hang ups, no pin failure, no reel catching fire (lol). I got home and examined the pin and there is absolutely ZERO wear so far. Line is holding up good as well.
I'm VERY happy, and glad I decided to use this rather than toss it out or sell it. It still casts beautifully, even with light baits/lures, and it retrieves very smoothly.
[/quote]
It's been a little over a month now... how's the braid-on-a-spincast-reel doing? Still no problems or pin wear?
I'm still thinking about trying it (braid) on one of my spincast reels!
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And... in the same vein... I've never seen nor heard of anyone using fluorocarbon on a spincast reel. Would that work too?
Fluoro on a spinning or baitcasting reel is "normal"... why wouldn't it work on a spincast reel? Would it be too hard on the fluoro to go through the housing and around the relatively tight bend of the pickup pin(s)??
Just curious...
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Hey guys, sorry I kind of abandoned this for a while, I just got busy with other stuff and I always ran out of time, but I'm back.
Anyway, the spincast reel is holding up just fine with power pro braid. I also figured out why it was hanging up, too. As you probably know, the diameter of braid is so ridiculously small that using 20lb braid is similar to using 4-6lb mono. What was happening, is the diameter was so small, the pin would pull the line in when it retracted in (To cast). So what I did is I upped the test I was using on braid so the diameter would be closer to 10lb mono. Works fine now, no hangups.
Also, I managed to land an EIGHT POUND largemouth with it! Plus numerous fish within the 1.5-6lb range.
Still no wear on the pins... I kind of think braid roughing up pins is similar to braid roughing up line guides. It can happen, but its far more common with some brands than others. For example, PowerPro is different than fireline, for example. It's much smoother and less abrasive.
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Thanks for the update! I might just have to give braid-on-a-spincast-reel a try!
IF and WHEN the pins do start to wear, I wonder how difficult they'd be to get/replace...?
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I thought I was the only one doing things never seen by the public..Way to go..Your PRO!
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You definitely should try it. Just remember, PowerPro, because it's the smoothest and least abrasive type of braid, and aim for a high test, even if you dont plan to catch fish as big as the test. The concern is diameter. You want one with a 10-12lb mono diameter equivalent. I also think the larger diameter may prevent any abrasions on the pin, because it's the same amount of pressure being distributed over a larger surface.
To understand, scale everything up so it's easier.
The pin's surface where the line comes in contact with it is an inch wide. Now imagine that one-inch pin under ten pounds of pressure. The ten pounds with a smaller diameter line is being focused more, probably on the center or middle of the pin's surface at, and the line takes up, say, 2mm. Because it's so much smaller than the alternative, larger diameter line, it just might cause some "cutting" or abrasions on the surface of the pin over time.
However, if the line is of a larger diameter, yet of the same smoothness, durability, etc. the ten pounds of pressure will be distributed over more of the surface of the pin (say 5mm, thus causing LESS of a direct, abrasive friction and contact.
Am I making any sense...? Lol.
Anyway, yeah. Definitely try it.
I would imagine it would be pretty hard to get the pin, and even if you managed to get ahold of one, it would be hell taking apart the spool of the reel and actually replacing it.
Let me know what you decide to do!
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The reason for my "pin replacement" question is the cost of the reel. I'm using Zebco's too... but the Omega series which run $50-$75 (with seven bearings). I LOVE these reels and they don't have the "rrrrr -rrrrr-rrrrr" noise like the spincast reels that I grew up with.
I wouldn't mind replacing just the PINS, say, maybe once a season. But would hate to have to replace the WHOLE REEL should just the pins get worn.
I'm sure their replaceable... and probably on your reel too. Just another "plus" for using braid.
Still wonder though, if you can use FLUOROCARBON line on a spincast too? <g>
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